Orsted kicks off construction at 1.2GW Hornsea 1 wind farm

Danish group starts work in the North Sea on what will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm

Danish group Orsted has started offshore construction on the giant 1.2GW Hornsea 1 wind farm in the North Sea.

The first of 174 monopiles have been installed at the site, located 120km off the Yorkshire coast.

When fully operational in 2020, the Orsted-developed wind farm will become the world’s biggest wind farm and produce enough power for well over one million homes.

The installation is being carried out by GeoSea’s installation vessel, Innovation. It will carry up to four monopiles at a time, each one is 65-metres long, weighing around 800 tonnes and with a diameter of 8.1 metres.

In March, Innovation will be joined by A2Sea’s vessel Sea Installer which will share the task of transition piece installation.

“After years of planning and preparation it is fantastic to see the initial stages of offshore construction begin. My thanks to the teams working day and night on this significant milestone,” said Duncan Clark, programme director for the project.

“Onshore alongside substation and cable installation, we are now developing the East Coast Hub which will serve as an operations and maintenance base for our existing wind farms in the area and both Hornsea 1, and 2 for which we took a final investment decision on last year.

“These wind farms will not only greatly contribute to the UK’s goal of decarbonising our energy system, they are also bringing jobs and investment to Grimsby and the North East,” Clark said.

The Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm will be built some 89km off the Yorkshire coast and is set to become operational in 2022.

Orsted currently has two operational wind farms off the east coast, the 210MW Westermost Rough and the 270MW Lincs. A third, the 573MW Race Bank, which nearing the end of construction, will be officially opened later this year.

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Orsted kicks off construction at 1.2GW Hornsea 1 wind farm

Orsted kicks off construction at 1.2GW Hornsea 1 wind farm

Danish group starts work in the North Sea on what will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm

Danish group Orsted has started offshore construction on the giant 1.2GW Hornsea 1 wind farm in the North Sea.

The first of 174 monopiles have been installed at the site, located 120km off the Yorkshire coast.

When fully operational in 2020, the Orsted-developed wind farm will become the world’s biggest wind farm and produce enough power for well over one million homes.

The installation is being carried out by GeoSea’s installation vessel, Innovation. It will carry up to four monopiles at a time, each one is 65-metres long, weighing around 800 tonnes and with a diameter of 8.1 metres.

In March, Innovation will be joined by A2Sea’s vessel Sea Installer which will share the task of transition piece installation.

“After years of planning and preparation it is fantastic to see the initial stages of offshore construction begin. My thanks to the teams working day and night on this significant milestone,” said Duncan Clark, programme director for the project.

“Onshore alongside substation and cable installation, we are now developing the East Coast Hub which will serve as an operations and maintenance base for our existing wind farms in the area and both Hornsea 1, and 2 for which we took a final investment decision on last year.

“These wind farms will not only greatly contribute to the UK’s goal of decarbonising our energy system, they are also bringing jobs and investment to Grimsby and the North East,” Clark said.

The Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm will be built some 89km off the Yorkshire coast and is set to become operational in 2022.

Orsted currently has two operational wind farms off the east coast, the 210MW Westermost Rough and the 270MW Lincs. A third, the 573MW Race Bank, which nearing the end of construction, will be officially opened later this year.

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